


leap of faith!

by ramenwriter (WritingEngine)



Series: ghostly tales of the SMP [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angry Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Angst and Feels, Character Death, Emotional Hurt, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Ghostbur, Hurt GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Long-Haired Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), M/M, Multi, Other, Sad Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28751712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingEngine/pseuds/ramenwriter
Summary: Ghostbur and Technoblade talk about feelings.Tommy deals with an angry Dream.George and Sapnap question their loyalty.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade
Series: ghostly tales of the SMP [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072697
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	leap of faith!

**Author's Note:**

> random lyric of the day:  
> "everybody's looking for somebody to blame" -true kinda love, steven universe
> 
> good luck pogchamps, you'll need it <3

"How come you waited 'til now to bring up the fact Tommy's in the Nether, Ghostbur?"

By this time, the pig man and the ghost are walking down Prime Path towards pretty much the only thing that matters right now: the Nether Portal. Once they go through it and into the Nether, they can find Tommy, and Techno can deal with the homeless green man.

Maybe making fun of him for his superiority while having no home might get Dream away for enough time to rescue Tommy. That makes sense in Techno's mind, at least.

"Dream told me not to tell anyone. You and Phil, specifically," comes Wilbur's reply. He's too busy cooing away with Friend to fully focus on Techno, who doesn't seem all too bothered by that fact.

"Why us specifically?" Techno asks, as if he can't already guess the answer.

Phil and Tommy have had as strong of a bond as they could have while roaming different parts of the SMP, before _and_ after the boy's unfortunate exile. They are father and son, claimed by both of them themselves, and they are each other's family (along with Wilbur, Tubbo, sometimes Fundy, and constant mentions of some sort of Samsung Smart Fridge).

Sons, one adopted and two by blood, and their father. What a family.

Now, with Phil and Techno by each other's sides, they don't view each other the same way as the other does.

Phil sees Techno as part of their makeshift family. He doesn't see Techno any different than he sees 'his boys' (Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo), though he holds the pig man to a certain level of superiority in the supposed sibling hierarchy between his 'brothers'. Because he's older, he's been told, is the exact reason he is put with more responsibility over the others within the family. He does see himself as quite the responsible person most times, so he's fine with it.

Techno, on the other hand, doesn't see himself as part of the family. Or any family, if he's being honest.

He sees Phil as a long-time friend. They've gone on adventures in the past, way before any war has even occurred in the SMP lands and outside them. The earliest memory Techno has brought up to Phil would be their companionship on the lands of another SMP, one neither remember the name of, where he was deemed the "King" of an empire while Phil was something like his right-hand man. The older man helped him take care of his long hair at the time, which now proudly trails down the back of his robes.

They aren't family.

With Tommy and Tubbo, he treats them somewhere along the lines of inferiors as well as temporary companions from time-to-time. He gets in short, quick arguments with Tommy the most out of the two boys, often threatening him into giving up the fight or backing down himself to regain _some_ sanity. He definitely speaks with Tubbo like he's level-headed, which he does believe, and he mostly pulls the boy to his side of one of his and Tommy's many arguments.

They aren't family.

Wilbur's a piece of work, whether he's a ghost or not. When they were younger and under the care (friendly supervision, as Techno calls it) of Phil, they fought nearly as much as he does nowadays with Tommy. For some stupid reason he can't figure out, Wilbur looked up to him as though he's his 'older brother' or something. Techno's fine with that. Play fights with swords and stupid little costumes were all they knew when they were younger. Now, with Wilbur dead as Ghostbur, they aren't as awfully close, especially with Dream being a constant issue that drives them into separate areas - Wilbur right by Dream's side, and Techno hiding literally anywhere he can.

_They aren't family._

He doesn't click back into reality until he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Take some blue, Techno," Wilbur says, holding a transparent bottle with a blue ribbon tied around its neck. He pushes it into Techno's hand after releasing his shoulder, waiting for it to fill up into a gorgeous blue shade.

But it stays transparent. He's never seen it do that before.

"I don't need blue, Ghostbur," comes Techno's reply, pushing the bottle back into the ghost's hand before he storms up to the Nether portal they've reached.

In Wilbur's hand is when the bottle fills into a colorful blue. He keeps a happy smile on his face despite this new thing he's learned, letting the bottle sit idly on the ground before he follows Techno close behind, making sure Friend's following close by as well.

"If you answered my question, I don't think I heard it," Techno says suddenly, standing tall in the sparkling portal. He's not looking the ghost in the eyes.

"What was your question? I don't remember if I answered it or not."

Now Techno's looking at him. Wilbur knows there's a strong burst of emotional energy there, but it's not one his bottles of blue can pick up. He thinks it can't be sadness then, or else he'd be able to sense it himself, and the bottle would've changed in Techno's hand. All he knows now is that it's some sort of ball of emotions. Maybe it's something greater than sadness. Or maybe it's something Wilbur can't feel for himself.

"You said Dream told you not to tell me and Phil about Tommy's whereabouts. Why _us_ specifically?" Techno repeats his question from earlier, eyeing the ghost and the strange sheep. He doesn't think Friend should be coming along to the dangerous place with them, but there's no convincing Wilbur otherwise. The ghost will never risk losing his Friend, whether it's a smart decision or not.

"Oh, right!" Wilbur hit his head, like he just got a lightbulb of an idea. His hand disappears through him, though, and it doesn't really affect him since he's.. well, a ghost. "Dream said Phil would get really, _really_ mad that his son's in there, you know? I'd be really sad if my son got hurt somehow, too, so I understand that."

"What about me?" Techno asks. "I'm just some sort of mentor and roommate to Tommy. Why does Dream care if I know where Tommy is or not?"

They're in the Nether now, thank god. Techno wastes no time stepping out of the portal, wishing the sparkling stars of magic would stay the hell away from his eyes. And they do when he's out of there, having to turn and wait on Wilbur to pull Friend down from it.

"Oh don't worry, Techno, he doesn't care if _you_ know."

"What? Ghostbur, that-"

"If you know, he doesn't actually care about that. But he doesn't want you to show up."

_That's.. not very helpful, Wilbur._

Techno steps back to let Wilbur have enough room to step away from the portal, and he's tugging Friend alongside him. He doesn't understand the attachment the ghost has to the sheep. But hey, that's got nothing to do with him, so why the hell not?

"Why? It's not like I can do anything about it, nor do I care what he does."

Wilbur looks up from Friend to watch the pig man with a confused stare, like he has no idea what he just said.

"..What?"

"He's been telling Tommy you won't show up because you don't care about him. So if you show up, then you _do_ care!"

Techno ignores the happy expression the ghost now wears. He shrugs it off, wipes it from his mind, and turns around to start walking towards the three-block bridge of netherrack that's set to go across the large pit of lava down below.

"You care about him like he's your little brother!" Wilbur hums giddily, following the robed man as he tugs the blue sheep along.

Techno rolls his eyes. "People aren't in my interest of care, Ghostbur. I've only stuck by his side so we can get what's rightfully ours, nothing more and nothing less. It's a partnership of benefit."

"So you care about him.. because he's worth something to you?" Wilbur asks. He has stopped walking by this point, patting Friend's head without his eyes leaving Techno's face when said man stops and turns to face him. "You're using Tommy?"

"He's using me as some kind of human shield against Dream. We benefit each other; he fights with me against the Manburg government, and I fight with him against Dream. Our partnership goes both ways in terms of benefits and use, you know."

Wilbur seems to take in all of the new information before bobbing his head up and down, and Friend mimics the head bobs.

"I think I get it. Thanks for telling me, Techno!" he chirps, flashing a grin at the man, who shakes his head in return.

"Now can we go back to finding Tommy?"

"But we don't have to look anymore!"

"Why's that?"

The ghost stretches his arm out and points directly at the group standing in the middle of the bridge; the masked bastard, the ex-king, the animal-killer, and his business partner.

When Techno catches a sliver of purple sparkles around something sticking out that’s held close to the blonde boy, who seems awfully nearing backing up and off the edge, the pig man shoots a dangerously hot glare at the other three and walks towards them. He has one hand on the handle of his enchanted netherite sword, warmly dubbed the 'Orphan Obliterator', knowing more than half of the people he knows would be greatly affected by the weapon.

Wilbur quickly follows close behind, wearing no form of protection nor is he wielding any sort of weapon. All he has is Friend's leash.

"Ghostbur," Techno keeps his voice quiet. He knows better than to announce his presence carelessly; something Tommy doesn't know how to do from the time they've spent together. "I need you to do something for me."

"Yes, Techno?" Wilbur asks. The warm expression on his ghostly pale face almost makes Techno want to stab something. That's not the kind of look he needs right now.

"Go back to Phil, and take Friend with you. This won't be good for either of you."

Something about that small comment makes Wilbur smile wide.

"Aww, Techno, you _do_ care!"

"Phil cares, Ghostbur. I'm not letting his son or his son's.. sheep, get hurt on my watch. So _go_ before I _let_ you get hurt."

Wilbur doesn't listen for too long as he's already heading straight back to the Nether portal, tugging Friend's leash as he teases the sheep for 'looking so blue' before stuffing a bottle of filled blue into Friend's thick fur. By the time Techno has stepped up to the bridge, the ghost has disappeared through the portal.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"I still don't get what you're trying to accomplish here, Dream."

Dream's pointing the tip of his enchanted netherite sword against Tommy's chest. The white, plastic mask known for covering his face is only a half piece. It reveals part of his face; shows off his pinched brows, flaming eyes, and the way his lips have been pulled in a firm, straight line.

He’s pissed.

"George, I’ve said this before already," Dream starts off slowly, tossing a heated glare at the British man. "Tommy refused to give up his items, so he has to be punished for it."

George and Sapnap are standing on either side of the other two while wearing enchanted netherite armor just as Dream is; the British man stands closer to the part of the bridge that leads from the Nether portal to the SMP lands, and the Texan man’s stretching his legs out with a little shake by the opposite part of the bridge.

Neither of them wield any weapons.

"They're his items, though," George replies. His gaze is on Dream's face, or what he can see of it, but he's more confused than frustrated. "You said you don't want him stealing from people, but then you steal from him and destroy his.. his home, which _he_ has the right to build and claim."

"George-"

"You've already exiled Tommy from.. _everywhere_. Why are you still so keen on making everything worse for him anyway? He followed your stupid rules, and you keep making his life a living hellhole. You aren't being fair to him, Dream."

Dream looks back at Tommy, studying the boy's frightened-to-silence expression. He's seen that look before, and it almost makes him feel more determined to get this done. Whatever it takes.

George glances between the two before looking at Dream again, eyes narrowed.

"I fixed my house already, you know that? I fixed it while you were off making someone else's life miserable. Not to mention _you_ didn't even help rebuild! You boxed L'Manburg with fucking obsidian when they didn't even do anything. Tommy's messed up before, and you never exiled him for any of his previous griefings or errors. He'd just apologize, and then we'd move the fuck on. But no, you have to make yourself bigger than everyone else, don't you? Make yourself your very own royal cushion to sit on while the rest of us deal with whatever bullshit you've done."

Dream only scoffs and shoots a glare at the British man once more, heated as the first one.

"I do it for the music discs, George, you know this."

"Then why are you keeping him alive if all you want are the discs? He doesn't have them."

Tommy shoots a 'what the fuck' look in George's direction, who gives sympathetic shrug back. Thankfully, Dream doesn't notice because he's looking at the lava bubbling below the bridge. One wrong move and both of them could go tumbling down. Maybe all four of them, if things come to worse.

"Let's not get Tommy killed, George," Sapnap offers, giving a subtle 'shut your mouth real quick, thanks' look to the goggle-wearing man. Then his eyes are on Dream, one hand on the green man's shoulder, trying to grab his attention. And he gets it when Dream turns to look at him. "Let's get off the bridge, take Tommy back to the countries, and then we can be done. Okay, Dream?"

Dream shrugs off the Texan's hand and quickly turns to point the sword right beneath his chin. He has a hand gripping tight to Tommy's shirt, making sure he doesn't fall over while his attention is more on Sapnap. "Why are you suddenly switching sides with George, Sapnap? You used to be _all_ for violence and fighting Tommy. What's changed?"

Sapnap glances down at the sword with an unamused snort. It takes a lot not to roll his eyes. " _Reasonable_ violence, dude. I fight for fun and for things that matter. Him having _music discs_ that _you don't have_ isn't a reason to hold the kid over lava. Or really anyone over lava. That's just dumb."

There's a moment of silence; Tommy's frantically looking for any means of escape of this hellhole situation, Dream and Sapnap are practically having a staring contest with definitely heated eyes, and George is watching the grip Dream has on Tommy start to loosen.

_Just don't move._

"He refused to give up his things to me, so I have to resort to threatening him above lava. It's not like I'm going to kill him," Dream reasons.

News flash: it's not a good reason or a reason at all.

"It'd be best to step away from Tommy, Dream," a new voice calls out - a pig man by the fearsome name of Technoblade. "I don't know much about children, but I know for a fact that one's a kicker and a biter."

The green man's attention rests on the upcoming pig man, whose eyes are heavy with the lack of sleep and fueled by pure determination to use his Orphan Obliterator. His grip on Tommy's shirt collar tighten and he trains to point the sword at Techno instead of Sapnap, who heaves out a sigh of damn relief.

"You aren't supposed to be here."

"Then pretend I'm not even here. You've done that to your friends, so it should be easier with me."

"I don't ignore my friends, Technoblade."

Techno raises a brow and looks at the two men on either side of Dream, neither of them looking right back. George chews on the inside of his cheek as he tries to ignore the glance sent his way; it's harder when he notices the defeated look on Sapnap's face.

"Right. Guess you'd kinda need to have some first."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Tommy's relieved.

His roommate and partner-in-crime-against-Dream, the almighty and feared Technoblade, has come to save him. Not that he'll admit to needing saving, but it doesn't mean he can't appreciate the older man's efforts for coming in the first place. Tommy _knew_ his friend would come back for him, really. Despite Dream telling him otherwise and trying to put the pig man in a bad light, Tommy held onto a large amount of hope that Techno would come.

He can't wait to be back home again.

"Technoblade," he blurts out, voice worn out from his previous yelling and screams. He's not the type to back down from a fight, especially one against the strange green man. "I knew you'd fuckin' come, bitch." He's called many people bitches throughout his life. Maybe even more than he can count, but this guy gets a reserved 'bitch' only saved for people like Wilbur and Tubbo.

They're his family, and he full-on acknowledges that. It's a small, makeshift family they have with Phil, and it works. Arguing is a normal thing between the group that turns into light-hearted banter (with occasional playful insults and swears thrown at each other). They bounce ideas off each other as easily as they slip into new topics, and that's just how their group works.

"You really shouldn't be here, Techno," Dream says. Tommy can tell the green bastard doesn't have a plan (or so he hopes), having been told numerous times by the man that Techno wasn't going to show his face in the Nether at all. Jokes on him! The pig knows better than that. He'd never leave family behind, Tommy believes that dearly. "Sapnap, George, take him-"

George cuts his friend(?) off, resting a hand on the green shoulder. "Just give Tommy up, Dream."

"You really want me to give him up, George?" Dream asks, looking at the British man in the eyes. "Is that what you really want right now?"

"Yes, I do. The sooner you let him go, the sooner you, Sapnap, and I can get out of here and go home."

Tommy shuts his eyes the second Dream's looking at him. There's nothing clear in those eyes of his, and Tommy can't tell if that makes the whole situation better or worse. Not that the man ever shows what he's thinking.

"Okay," Dream agrees reluctantly, loosening his grip on the boy's shirt. "I'm giving up on you."

_That doesn't sound like what he'd-_

Tommy hears a scream and feels arms wrapped around him. When he opens his eyes, the last thing he expects to see is him falling down to the lava with blue fabric pressed against his back. He can't see who or what's holding him, but he can look up at the bridge to see Dream, Sapnap, and Techno. Dream's staring down at the boy with a rare look of loss decorating his freckled features. Sapnap's fists are hitting against Dream's armor, who does nothing in retaliation, with frustration built up in his system.

He's not entirely sure what emotion Techno's wearing, but it's not one that Tommy's seen on the pig's face before. It's not something rare either; that blank stare of his is different than his no-longer-focusing stare. It's not one of his stares he sinks into when the voices in his head are yelling at him to do something. It's an entirely new look for the man, and something about it scares Tommy.

"You're a fucking dumbass, Dream!" Sapnap's screaming at the green man, hitting him harder now.

"Sapnap, stop it," comes Dream's reply. He's only a bit out of it, Tommy can tell. He grows angry when the Texan keeps hitting him against his wishes, and he turns to grab the younger guy's wrists and slightly twist them to make him stop. "I said stop."

Tommy's floating in the lava now. Whatever's holding him really won't let him sink to the bottom of this flaming layer of pain and suffering, so he assumes that's probably a good thing, right? He said it's never his time to die, and he holds onto that little sliver of faith tight. He can't possibly die like this; not without telling his family 'goodbye' or 'I'll miss you'. He can't die without letting his family know how much he cares about them, even if he brushes off concerns easily.

He can't die yet.

"Stay quiet if you can, Tommy," the thing behind him says. The hold it has against him is lighter now, but Tommy can still feel the grasp just fine. This thing's helping him stay afloat above the lava right now, and he's surprisingly more than thankful for its work.

_Wait, that voice..._

"Who are you?" Tommy asks quickly, keeping his voice low as instructed. He would have loved to scream profanities at the green man arguing with the arsonist up on the bridge, but they're having their own thing while the boy's just.. being held by this strange thing in the lava.

"Try quieter, okay? Can you do that for me?" the voice asks again. It's floating on its back, Tommy can only guess, as it heads in the closest direction towards a surface they can go on. Tommy's not sure if it's the after-effects of having armor on 24/7 or weird potions that makes his body all numb, but for whatever reason, he feels nothing in relation to the scorching lava.

Tommy exhales slowly, which sounds more like a sigh mixed with an annoyed groan now that he thinks about it. Then, after inhaling, he lowers his voice a smidge more to follow the thing's instructions. "I'm being really fuckin' quiet right now. Can you tell me who you are? You know me, so it's fair."

"Ghorge."

Tommy snorts at that. " _Ghorge?_ What kind of name is that?"

"I'll let you sink right here if you don't take that back."

_Ah. Got it._

"Fine, fine," Tommy mumbles, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. He hopes he'll be able to see who's helping him by the time they reach the surface, or he'll probably end up bothering this 'Ghorge' fella some more about it. "That's a _really_ good name."

"Thank you. I came up with it," the 'Ghorge' fella says. Tommy can practically hear his confident little smirk, and he has to chuckle at the thought. "You'll need to be called something else, too. Since you're like me."

"What do you mean I'm like you, Ghorge?"

"You're a ghost now, Tommy. Because of Dream."

_Because of Dream._

**Author's Note:**

> leave some kudos, some comments, maybe hit that pretty subscribe button too!  
> it's free, and you can always unsubscribe!


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